British Airways (BA) announced a £7 billion ($8.9 billion) transformation plan at an event in London on March 5. The new initiatives aim to provide a world-class passenger experience and incorporate advanced technology into the airline’s operations.
BA CEO and Chairman Sean Doyle said about the plan:
“We’re on a journey to a better BA for our people and for our customers, underpinned by a transformation programme that will see us invest £7bn over the next two years to revolutionise our business. We’re going to take delivery of new aircraft, introduce new cabins, elevate our customer care, focus on operational performance and address our environmental impact by reducing our emissions and creating a culture of sustainability. We’re also heavily investing in the development of a new ba.com website and app and are laser-focused on transforming our business and fixing any pain points for our customers.”
New Technology
BA will completely overhaul its digital user experience by introducing a new website and mobile app that passengers can personalize to accommodate their needs. The new services include the ability for customers to change their flights online instead of waiting for a long time for someone at customer service to answer their call.
BA’s Executive Club loyalty program members can now send free text messages on their devices using in-flight WiFi. This benefit applies to passengers across all four cabin classes: Euro/World Traveller (economy class), World Traveller Plus (premium economy), Club Europe/World (business class), and first class.
Furthermore, BA is the world’s first airline to offer customer service from the ground to cabin crew onboard flights in the sky. This WiFi-enabled solution, created through a partnership with Microsoft, allows customer service representatives to collaborate with cabin crew across over 300 daily flights. The technology will help solve issues during a flight, such as unruly passengers or a medical emergency.
BA has acknowledged that machine learning, automation, and artificial intelligence (AI) are the future of airline operations by investing £100 million ($ 127.4 million) into these technologies. The tools will assist with the following tasks:
- Predicting flight delays and taking steps to reduce passenger disruption
- Analyzing weather, aircraft capacity, and flight connection data to improve team decision-making
- Facilitating improvements in bookings and baggage handling
- Reducing the time planes spend on the runway or at the gate waiting for departure
BA will also hire 350 new employees at London Heathrow Airport (LHR), acquire new baggage tugs and towing vehicles, and invest £750 million ($955.8 million) in moving systems and servers to the cloud. All technological improvements will be fully implemented within the next year.
Enhanced Passenger Experience
BA will open a new lounge at Dubai International Airport (DXB) to replace the existing one later this year. Along with another BA lounge opening at Miami International Airport (MIA) next year, this lounge will feature the airline’s new lounge design concept. The new Dubai lounge will improve the customer experience by offering more space and amenities. Lounges at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (LOS) in Lagos and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) will also improve.
BA has 13 Airbus A320neo and seven A321neo planes in its order book, with the first eight aircraft slated to arrive in May. On short-haul flights, the A320neos and A321neos will have new seats in the Euro Traveller and Club Europe cabins. The revamped cabins will also feature larger overhead luggage bins and cabin interiors reflecting British culture. Long-haul flights will feature a new First suite, which will debut starting late next year. BA is revamping its Airbus A380 fleet, with the refurbishment including new seats.
BA is also expanding its route network by introducing flights to multiple new destinations and reviving previously existing routes this year. This fall, the airline will restore nonstop flights to Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi (BKK) and Kuala Lumpur (KUL). These routes will use Boeing 777-200ER and Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, respectively. BA will also launch a new route to Agadir (AGA) on March 31, return to Abu Dhabi (AUH) on April 20, and start flying to Izmir (ADB) on May 18.
